The light from the lamps on the ceiling of the armory reflected off the blades, almost blinding him.

  There were really a lot of them...

  He glanced around briefly and saw that bladed weapons occupied most of the first section of the armory.

  Standard longswords, two-handed greatswords, scimitars, daggers...

  all kinds of styles, everything you could think of.

  However, no matter how well-crafted these blades were, they didn’t spark much interest in Reed.

  After all, he already had the starfall sword. These standard weapons were unlikely to catch his eye.

  His gaze began to wander around the armory, searching for other types of weapons.

  Reed’s eyes suddenly lit up, and his gaze fixed on an inconspicuous weapon rack in the corner of the armory.

  There, a few longbows lay quietly.

  The bow and arrow section didn’t have many weapons, making it seem a bit lonely. It was probably rarely visited.

  Indeed, in the armory of the knight academy, blades were the mainstream. Bow and arrows had never been popular among knights. After all, in traditional knight duels, bows weren’t very effective, nowhere near as direct as blades.

  Most knights believed that bows were for rangers or hunters, not fitting for a knight’s identity.

  Reed walked over to the bow and arrow section, his eyes scanning the few longbows.

  The bows here were rather uniform, mostly standard longbows made from ordinary wood and metal.

  The quality, naturally, wasn’t great.

  Most of them were white one-star weapons, the lowest tier in this armory.

  However, when his gaze fell on one particular bow, he paused slightly.

  It was an entirely white longbow, with a slender body, smooth lines, and a simple yet elegant design.

  It lay quietly in the corner, a thin layer of dust covering its surface.

  He stepped forward and picked up the longbow.

  It felt heavy in his hands. The material of the bow was warm and smooth, almost like jade, with an excellent texture. It didn’t feel like ordinary wood; instead, it seemed to be made of some special kind of bone.

  The bowstring was taut, emitting a faint white glow that blended seamlessly with the color of the bow, as if it were naturally one.

  Reed carefully checked the bow’s label.

  White two-star weapon—white bone bow.

  White two-star?

  Among this pile of white one-star weapons, this white bone bow was definitely a standout.

  No wonder he had felt that this bow was different.

  “Instructor, I’ll take this bow,” Reed said as he walked over to Carl, holding the white bone bow.

  Carl was standing with his arms crossed, watching Reed pick out a weapon with interest.

  Although the armory had many weapons, the truly good ones were in the back sections. The weapons in the first section were, in his opinion, mostly just practice tools for squires.

  He had thought Reed would just pick a random sword from the blade section and be done with it. But to his surprise, Reed had gone over to the bow and arrow section and actually picked out a bow.

  “A bow?” Carl raised an eyebrow, looking at the longbow in Reed’s hand with some surprise. “You’ve got quite a unique taste.”

  He walked over to Reed, took the white bone bow, and examined it carefully, weighing it in his hand. A look of confusion appeared on his face.

  “A white two-star longbow? Hmm... the material of this bow is quite special. Interesting.”

  Carl, after all, was a bronze knight, and his eye for weapons was sharp. He could tell at a glance that this white bone bow was extraordinary.

  However, he still looked at Reed with some confusion and asked, “Reed, are you sure you want to pick a bow? This thing isn’t easy to master. In knight duels, close combat is key. Bows have range and decent power, but they lack flexibility. Once a knight gets close, you’re just a sitting duck.”

  He paused, then added sincerely, “And bows are all about talent. Without talent, you could practice for a lifetime and never hit anything. Only those with talent can shoot accurately from a hundred paces. Have you practiced archery before? If not, I’d advise you to pick a sword instead. It’s safer.”

  Carl was speaking the truth.

  Bows had always been an unpopular choice in the knight academy.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  There were knights who chose bows, but they were few and far between.

  And those who did choose bows either came from families with a long tradition of archery or were naturally gifted archers.

  For someone like Reed, who had no prior archery experience and was choosing a bow as his weapon, this was a first for Carl.

  “Thanks for the advice, Instructor,” Reed said with a grateful smile, but he didn’t change his mind. His voice was firm as he said, “Instructor, I’ve thought it through. I’ll take this bow.”

  “I’m quite interested in bows. I want to try something different. Maybe a different weapon will lead to a different fighting style,” Reed explained.

  “Alright, alright. If you insist, I won’t say more,” Carl said with a resigned shake of his head, handing the white bone bow back to Reed.

  “But I have to warn you, the knight examination is no joke. Bows are at a disadvantage in the exam. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Don’t worry, Instructor,” Reed said as he took the bow.

  Carl looked at Reed’s determined attitude and sighed, shaking his head inwardly.

  He is really stubborn.

  But then again, it’s good for young people to have some drive and ideas.

  Carl shook his head and didn’t think about it further.

  ...

  Meanwhile, Aaron, upon hearing from his subordinate that Reed wasn’t only still alive but had also gone to the armory to pick up a weapon, felt like he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, chilling him from head to toe.

  “How is this possible? Is Morris just eating for free? He took my money and promised me he’d take care of it, and now this? Now the guy’s just waltzing into the armory to pick up weapons?!”

  Aaron was pacing around his room, his voice rising with barely contained panic and anger. He felt like a fool, being played for a sucker.

  That money-grubbing Morris!

  The more Aaron thought about it, the angrier he got. He wished he could storm over right now, grab Morris by the collar, and demand an explanation.

  He felt like he’d been made a fool of, like Morris had played him for a monkey!

  “No, no, I need to calm down, calm down...” Aaron forced himself to stop pacing, took a few deep breaths, and tried to get his brain working.

  He knew that losing his temper wasn’t going to help. The priority now was to figure out how to deal with this.

  Reed was still alive, and now he had a weapon. This was not a good sign.

  His strength had been increasing way too fast lately, almost like he was on a rocket.

  If this kept up, would he even be able to keep him in check?

  The more Aaron thought about it, the more uneasy he became. It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

  Since he was a child, he had always had everything go his way. He had never suffered any real setbacks, never experienced the humiliation of being defeated by Reed like he had last time.

  He began to regret not hiring more assassins to take care of Reed once and for all.

  Now, the assassin had been sent out, but the job wasn’t done. It was just more trouble for himself.

  Just as Aaron was pacing around like an ant on a hot pan, there was a knock on the door.

  “Who is it? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Aaron snapped, his mood at rock bottom.

  From outside came Finn’s voice: “Aaron, it’s me, Finn.”

  Finn? What’s he doing here?

  Aaron frowned, a hint of suspicion flickering in his mind, but he reluctantly let him in.

  The door opened, and Finn walked in, a sly smile on his face. He was carrying a delicate lunch box, as if it contained something special.

  “Hey, Aaron, you don’t look so good. What’s wrong?” Finn’s tone was light.

  Aaron shot Finn a glance, too irritated to play along, and asked directly, “What do you want? I’m busy.”

  Finn didn’t seem bothered by Aaron’s coldness.

  He walked over to the table, set the lunch box down, and said with a smile, “Don’t be so hasty. After all, we’re friends. I know Reed’s still alive, so I came to comfort you. I even brought something good to cheer you up.”

  “Comfort me? Ha!” Aaron scoffed.

  Finn, as always, never did anything without a reason.

  The other man seemed to ignore the sarcasm and continued with a smile, “I’m here to really help you this time.”

  “Help me? With what?”

  Finn opened the lunch box, and a faint aroma of meat wafted out.

  He smiled mysteriously, took out a chunk of meat wrapped in oil paper from the box, and handed it to Aaron, saying, "Look, what's this? This is something good, not everyone gets to eat it."

  Aaron skeptically took the meat, unwrapped the oil paper, and saw a piece of meat with a faint blue glow.

  The texture was delicate, the grain clear, and it emitted a subtle energy fluctuation.

  "What kind of meat is this? It looks quite special," Aaron asked, furrowing his brow.

  "This is a treasure I brought from home, green python meat!" Finn boasted.

  "This isn't ordinary meat. Eating it can quickly enhance your strength and improve your physique. Pretty generous of me, right?"

  Green python meat?

  Enhance strength?

  Aaron was intrigued by Finn's words.

  He had been worried that Reed's strength was increasing too quickly, possibly surpassing his own, while his own progress was too slow.

  If the green python meat was as miraculous as Finn claimed, it might be worth trying.

  But how did Finn know this was exactly what he was worried about?

  "Is it really that effective? Are there any side effects?" Aaron was still a bit uneasy.

  After all, nothing comes for free, and Finn suddenly offering such a valuable item must have a reason.

  "Don't worry, it's absolutely safe with no side effects. This is a treasure passed down in my family, and the effects are top-notch," Finn assured, patting his chest with a sincere smile that made it hard to doubt his words.

  Aaron looked at the green python meat in his hand and then at Finn's earnest face, feeling torn.

  "Alright, what do you want?" Aaron asked directly, knowing Finn wouldn’t give him such a valuable item for nothing.

  Hearing this, Finn's smile widened.

  He knew Aaron was a smart person who understood things quickly.

  "I like dealing with smart people," Finn said with a smile. "I don’t want much. Just that white five-star knight skill book of yours."

  The white five-star knight skill book?

  Aaron was stunned, his expression turning grim.

  That skill book was something he had spent almost all his savings on at an auction.

  He had always treasured it, and now Finn wanted to exchange it for a piece of meat?

  That was asking for the moon!

  "Finn, are you kidding me? My knight skill book for a piece of meat? Do you think I’d agree to that?" Aaron said angrily. He knew Finn wasn’t that generous!

  "Hey, don’t get worked up, Aaron," Finn said, still smiling.

  "I know that skill book is important to you, but think about it. Compared to enhancing your strength, what’s a skill book? Once your strength improves, you can easily get better skill books. Besides, this green python meat is a rare treasure. You can’t even buy it with money. This is a golden opportunity."

  Finn paused, then continued, "And aren’t you worried that your strength is improving too slowly, and that Reed might catch up? After eating this green python meat, your strength will skyrocket, and then you can crush him however you want. Trading a skill book for the chance to overpower Reed—doesn’t that sound like a good deal?"

  Finn’s words hit Aaron right where it hurt.

  If the green python meat could really boost his strength quickly, it might be a worthwhile trade.

  Aaron looked down at the green python meat in his hand, his mind in turmoil.

  The knight skill book was indeed precious, but he had already learned half of the skill.

  Compared to his future, a skill book seemed insignificant.

  If he could use the green python meat to enhance his strength quickly, he would gain more recognition in his family, and his future would be brighter.

  Thinking this, Aaron clenched his teeth and finally made up his mind.

  "Alright, I’ll trade with you!" Aaron said with reluctance, as if he was cutting off a piece of his own flesh.

  Hearing this, Finn’s smile grew even wider. He knew Aaron would agree in the end.

  "That’s more like it," Finn said, taking the skill book from Aaron and carefully putting it away.

  Then he handed the green python meat to Aaron. "Take it. Eat it, and I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."

  Aaron took the green python meat, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and swallowed it in one gulp.

  As soon as the meat entered his stomach, Aaron felt a burning sensation spread from his stomach to his entire body.

  It felt like his organs were on fire, his whole body was unbearably hot, his heart was pounding, and his blood vessels felt like they were about to burst.

  "Ah—" Aaron couldn’t help but let out a low groan, feeling like he was being roasted alive, in extreme pain.

  He quickly stood up, enduring the discomfort, grabbed his sword, and went to the courtyard to enter a cultivation state, hoping to guide the energy within his body.

  He couldn’t miss this opportunity!

  ...